Who needs to watch wildlife documentaries…when nature is all around us. That’s the attitude of some local photographers who enjoy visiting the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard to take photos of this little but wonderful urban park.
One local photographer, Zahra Mennoune-Beghdali, enjoys wandering around the park and taking snapshots of nature’s beautiful show. After a long winter it’s a pleasure to see the bright colours of the daffodils and tulips and the breathtaking fruit tree blossoms.
And then there’s the wildlife in our park. As you’ll see from this blog post she has captured our ecosystem in all its glory…
Of course there are lots of red-winged blackbirds in the park. And bees buzzing around the fruit tree blossoms. But Zahara has captured a tribe of humans who frequent the park on a regular basis. Like any group of animals, these humans (also known as the volunteers of the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard) have their habits, their traditions and their ups and downs. Most of those happen in our pollinator garden on the weekends when we come out to enjoy the fresh air and spend some time weeding or planting in the garden.
Now, life is not always harmonious in the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard ecosystem. Sometimes a tool breaks. Or a weed defies us. Sometimes we’re mulching our trees in weather that’s so cold that our fingers go numb. During a recent visit to our park, Zahra caught such a moment. Was Ruth defeated by a deep rooted weed in the garden? We may never know. But her face speaks of the deep disappointment we all share when stuff doesn’t go as planned.
Now, in all ecosystems, some creatures can be a little bit shy. And in Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard, our coordinator Susan is rarely in photos…probably since she’s the one who is usually taking the pictures. Well, Zahra stalked her prey for hours until she finally got this shot of Susan in the wild!
All of this is to say that there’s so much going on in our orchard in the background…way more than just showy fruit tree blossoms. But we do have those too. Come and join us on one of our weekend stewardship days by emailing Lynn at growingforgreen (at) gmail.com. Or join us for our 10th anniversary event on June 2, 2019 between 10 am and noon. Lots of fun will be had! And you can meet the local wildlife first hand. 🙂
